1. Field of the Invention
This invention broadly relates to an auxiliary mirror which is connected to a conventional, interior rear view mirror of a vehicle and which may be adjusted to an inclined orientation relative to the rear view mirror for viewing, for example, small children in the rear seat. More particularly, the invention concerns an auxiliary mirror assembly which includes an elongated, rod-like member interconnecting the auxiliary mirror and the conventional mirror, wherein the member is deformable by hand about any one of three mutually perpendicular axes of rotation for facilitating positioning of the auxiliary mirror. A coupling device connecting the deformable, rod-like member to the conventional mirror includes an adhesive portion which faces in the same general direction as the reflective, viewing portion of the auxiliary mirror so that the coupling device may be affixed to the forwardly facing back section of the conventional mirror without obstruction of the reflective section on the opposite side of the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Parents of infants and relatively small children have long been faced with the problem of maintaining an observant watch over the children while driving. It is known that the rear seat represents a location that is safer for the transport of small children than does the front seat in a position next to the driver. In addition, the passenger side of the front seat may be occupied by others and the children are thus typically relegated to the back seat by default.
Unfortunately, it is also known that children oftentimes are not ideal passengers, and a fair amount of bothersome activities or mischiefmaking can be expected. While the driver is normally free to talk to young passengers, it is difficult to maintain constant surveillance over activities in the rear seat without losing sight of the road.
Adults with very young children and infants often utilize a child seat or carrier that is connected by seat belts to the adult-sized rear seat of the vehicle. In turn, the small child is held in the seat or carrier by straps of the same. Such straps, while being useful for restraining movement of the child in the event of a collision, do not avoid the necessity of intermittently observing the child to insure that his or her well-being and safety is not impaired by other factors.
As can be appreciated, however, the driver of a moving vehicle is also under an obligation to carefully watch the road at all times and thus the common practice of turning the head to steal glances at the children in the rear seat is dangerous and should be avoided. Of course, other adults or larger children may be available as passengers for assistance in caring for the small children, but in many circumstances the driver may be alone in the vehicle with one or more small children in the rear seat.
To this end, a number of auxiliary mirror assemblies have been proposed in the past for connection to the conventional, existing rear view mirror of the vehicle. The auxiliary mirrors, which are often smaller than conventional mirrors, are oriented at an inclination relative to the latter so that the line of sight reflected in the auxiliary mirror is in a different direction than the line of reflected vision provided by the conventional mirror, in order that passengers in the rear seat may be observed. However, prior art auxiliary mirror assemblies have been unsatisfactory for one reason or another.
As an example, auxiliary mirror assemblies which are illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,048,084, 3,790,117, 3,954,328, and 4,598,982 are provided with a relatively complex, clamp-like mounting device for securing the auxiliary mirror to the conventional, existing rear view mirror. These clamp-like mounting devices require a certain amount of time for initial connection of the auxiliary mirror assembly to the existing mirror and in some cases require tools to tighten fasteners that may become loosened over a period of time. Additionally, clamp-like mounting devices of this type may not be adaptable for connection with rear view mirrors having certain, somewhat unconventional configurations.
Other auxiliary mirror units are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,223,983, 4,200,359, 4,311,363, and 4,526,446 and are comprised of a relatively small auxiliary mirror having a back surface which is connected to an adhesive material for stick-on attachment directly to the reflective surface of the larger, existing mirror. However, auxiliary mirrors which are directly connected to the reflective face of the existing mirror necessarily obscure a portion of the reflective surface of the same, thereby undesirably diminishing the field of view of the driver and establishing blind spots.
In U.S. Pat. No 2,636,419 an auxiliary mirror assembly is shown wherein a generally rectangular backing plate is provided for mounting the auxiliary mirror to the existing, conventional rear view mirror. The backing plate of the assembly illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,636,419 is comprised of mild steel material and can be bent about a single axis parallel to the adjacent sides of both mirrors to provide a field of view toward traffic lanes on the right side of the car. However, the flat configuration of the backing plate shown in this reference prevents movement of the auxiliary mirror relative to the existing mirror about other axes such as horizontal axes as may be necessary for viewing children in the rear seat when the main or conventional mirror is positioned to reflect traffic behind the vehicle.
My attention has also been directed toward U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,114,559, 4,019,812, and 4,345,819, all of which describe other types of auxiliary mirror assemblies. For one reason or another, however, these devices are also not entirely satisfactory.
Furthermore, many of the known auxiliary mirror assemblies are provided with an adjustment mechanism for varying the angle of the auxiliary mirror relative to the conventional or main mirror, but such adjustment mechanisms often involve the use of thumbscrews, adjusting bolts or the like which are difficult to use especially when the vehicle is in motion. The nature of most adjustment mechanisms also requires that the driver hold the auxiliary mirror in the desired orientation with one hand while loosening or tightening the mechanism with the remaining hand. Obviously, such mechanisms cannot be adjusted by the driver while the vehicle is in motion even though such minor adjustments may often be necessary to retain the children in the reflected field of vision of the auxiliary mirror.